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Why does the USA


thedutchiedutch

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I always wondered why they call the USA the land of the free.

I was born and raised in Europe, The Netherlands to be specific and I don't think we have less freedoms.

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It was the first modern day "democracy"(representative republic). And then France started and other countries followed. So we took the name :P. First come first serve lol

And then the whole thing with the cold war

Edited by spartan max2
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It's from the national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner": the land of the free and the home of the brave.

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The USA doesn't get their natural gas or LNG from Russia.

The USA is 70% self-sufficient. "U.S. energy independence relates to the goal of reducing the U.S. imports of oil and other foreign sources of energy. If total energy is looked at, the U.S. is over 70% self-sufficient.[1]" [Wikipedia: United States Energy Independence]

The more one becomes self-sufficient, the more freedoms they have. Like the freedom to know, you don't have to sell your soul to do the morally just thing.

Just my thoughts.

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The USA doesn't get their natural gas or LNG from Russia.

The USA is 70% self-sufficient. "U.S. energy independence relates to the goal of reducing the U.S. imports of oil and other foreign sources of energy. If total energy is looked at, the U.S. is over 70% self-sufficient.[1]" [Wikipedia: United States Energy Independence]

The more one becomes self-sufficient, the more freedoms they have. Like the freedom to know, you don't have to sell your soul to do the morally just thing.

Just my thoughts.

So because the USA is 70% self-sufficient in regards to energy it's has the nickname land of the free ?

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It was the first modern day "democracy"(representative republic). And then France started and other countries followed. So we took the name :P. First come first serve lol

And then the whole thing with the cold war

Hmm...I thought democracy originated from Greece :)

And the cold war claim is funny :w00t:

Edited by thedutchiedutch
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It's from the national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner": the land of the free and the home of the brave.

I see. But it must have a background , I mean they must have put it in the Anthem for a reason.

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I always wondered why they call the USA the land of the free.

I was born and raised in Europe, The Netherlands to be specific and I don't think we have less freedoms.

I don't know why there is such an emphasis on the word "freedom". Any place can say they are free. The details of how much freedom is allowed are what is important.

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The US doesn't claim to be the sole land of the free, it's just that it's history, the American Revolution was very much about personal freedom against being ruled by the British.

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Hmm...I thought democracy originated from Greece :)

And the cold war claim is funny :w00t:

Perhaps you missed the word modern in my post

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It came from the song lyrics like little_dreamer said, and 199 years ago, the US was free compared to the rest of the world.

On one hand some are snickering that the US isn't free...on the other hand we've got liberals in denial that our freedoms are being infringed upon at all. Can't have it both ways, even though both cudgels work equally well as an anti-US bait thread like this one.

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The US went with "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" (Freedom), while Canada (the closest thing resembling the US) went with "Peace, Order and Good Government".

In recent recent years, other than the 'order' part, we Canadians have been getting screwed over. :)

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I see. But it must have a background , I mean they must have put it in the Anthem for a reason.

C'mon, you really can't see how 'land of the free' can apply to a large group that left a country ruled by British government to create their own nation on their own patch of land, where they were free to create their own rules/religion/whatever the hell they wanted?

C;mon!

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I don't know why there is such an emphasis on the word "freedom". Any place can say they are free. The details of how much freedom is allowed are what is important.

Agreed !

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The US doesn't claim to be the sole land of the free, it's just that it's history, the American Revolution was very much about personal freedom against being ruled by the British.

That makes sense.

Perhaps you missed the word modern in my post

I did. I am sorry :tu:

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It came from the song lyrics like little_dreamer said, and 199 years ago, the US was free compared to the rest of the world.

On one hand some are snickering that the US isn't free...on the other hand we've got liberals in denial that our freedoms are being infringed upon at all. Can't have it both ways, even though both cudgels work equally well as an anti-US bait thread like this one.

Nope can't have it both ways I guess. And for the record this thread is not meant to be anti US.

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The US went with "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" (Freedom), while Canada (the closest thing resembling the US) went with "Peace, Order and Good Government".

In recent recent years, other than the 'order' part, we Canadians have been getting screwed over. :)

I see.

Have Canadians been screwed over with Peace ?

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C'mon, you really can't see how 'land of the free' can apply to a large group that left a country ruled by British government to create their own nation on their own patch of land, where they were free to create their own rules/religion/whatever the hell they wanted?

C;mon!

Yes, now I can with your explanation. Thanks, that makes sense.

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You are talking history here, the first e\settlers came from an overcrowded and over-exploited environment, getting to the 99% still natural America with all its resources unexploited and up for the grabbing and leaving the overcrowded quarters of Europe behind them made them realize that there was a world in which you could behave how ever you wanted without social constraints and without bothering anybody.

The America we have now is quite a different place, while not yet as overcrowded as Britain (for example) you have to be very careful that your freedoms don't infringe on the freedoms of others nowadays. And because Americans are still practicing that (Europe had 1000 years of experience) it tends to get ludicrous at times.

So yes, you are as free (sometimes more free) in Europe with less risks... but that was not true 150 years ago.

Edited by questionmark
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You are talking history here, the first e\settlers came from an overcrowded and over-exploited environment, getting to the 99% still natural America with all its resources unexploited and up for the grabbing and leaving the overcrowded quarters of Europe behind them made them realize that there was a world in which you could behave how ever you wanted without social constraints and without bothering anybody.

The America we have now is quite a different place, while not yet as overcrowded as Britain (for example) you have to be very careful that your freedoms don't infringe on the freedoms of others nowadays. And because Americans are still practicing that (Europe had 1000 years of experience) it tends to get ludicrous at times.

So yes, you are as free (sometimes more free) in Europe with less risks... but that was not true 150 years ago.

Thanks. Very Interesting.

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If you're fighting in a battle for self-determination against a hostile colonial power, waking up alive after a battle with such an enemy would mean "freedom". At no other time in their lives were they more free than when they witnessed the lyrics of the song. How can one not get goosebumps by the power of that?

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C'mon, you really can't see how 'land of the free' can apply to a large group that left a country ruled by British government to create their own nation on their own patch of land, where they were free to create their own rules/religion/whatever the hell they wanted?

C;mon!

I was going to say something similar;

But also, the expansion of the colonies was fueled by other things as well:

Colonial expansion was fueled by a number of factors. England’s population was growing at a rapid rate. Economic recession left many without work, even skilled artisans could earn little more than enough to live. Poor crop yields added to the distress. In addition, the Industrial Revolution had created a growing textile industry, which demanded an ever-increasing supply of wool. Landlords enclosed farmlands for sheep grazing, which left the farmers without anywhere to live. The law of primogeniture (first born) stated that only the eldest son inherited an estate, which left many entrepreneurial younger sons to seek their fortunes elsewhere. Colonial expansion became an outlet for these displaced populations.

http://www.apstudynotes.org/us-history/topics/the-first-english-settlements/

If you are truly interested in the American revolution, and why we call ourselves 'the land of the free', this book is a very interesting account:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2203.John_Adams

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I was going to say something similar;

But also, the expansion of the colonies was fueled by other things as well:

http://www.apstudyno...sh-settlements/

If you are truly interested in the American revolution, and why we call ourselves 'the land of the free', this book is a very interesting account:

http://www.goodreads...2203.John_Adams

Thanks, I have a look. Appreciate it :)

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